9 - 6p (not tue)
This is the big one: once the largest palace in the world and now the largest art museum. Home of the Mona Lisa and the poor armless Venus de Milo; home of IM Pei's controversial pyramid and home, all told of some 400,000 works of art; some 35,000 of which are on permanent display.
Stretching almost half a mile along the banks of the Seine, the palace began as a medieval fortress and was expanded over the centuries into a luxurious royal residence. The palace was designated a museum immediately after the revolution, and its collection was significantly expanded by Napoleon. Today the collections are divided into seven departments: Egyptian antiquities, asian and islamic antiquities and art, greek etruscan and roman antiquities, sculpture, paintings, prints and drawings, and objets d'art.